scholarly journals Limited MDR efflux pump overexpression among multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli of ST131

Author(s):  
Johannes Camp ◽  
Sabine Schuster ◽  
Martina Vavra ◽  
Tobias Schweigger ◽  
John W. A. Rossen ◽  
...  

Gram-negative bacteria partly rely on efflux pumps to facilitate growth under stressful conditions and to increase resistance to a wide variety of commonly used drugs. In recent years E. coli ST131 has emerged as a major cause of extraintestinal infection frequently exhibiting an MDR phenotype. The contribution of efflux to MDR in emerging E. coli MDR clones however, is not well studied. We characterized strains from an international collection of clinical MDR-E. coli isolates by MIC testing with and without the addition of the AcrAB-TolC efflux inhibitor 1-(1-naphthylmethyl)-piperazine (NMP). MIC data for 6 antimicrobial agents and their reversion by NMP were analyzed by Principal Component Analysis (PCA). PCA revealed a group of 17/34 MDR-E. coli exhibiting increased susceptibility to treatment with NMP suggesting an enhanced contribution of efflux pumps to antimicrobial resistance in these strains (termed “enhanced efflux phenotype” [EEP]). Only 1/17 EEP strains versus 12/17 non-EEP MDR strains belonged to the ST131 clonal group. Whole-genome sequencing revealed marked differences in efflux-related genes between EEP and control strains, with the majority of notable amino-acid substitutions occurring in AcrR, MarR and SoxR. qRT-PCR of multiple efflux-related genes showed significant overexpression of the AcrAB-TolC-system in EEP strains, whereas in the remaining strains we found enhanced expression of alternative efflux proteins. We conclude that a proportion of MDR E. coli exhibit an EEP, which is linked to an overexpression of the AcrAB-TolC-efflux-pump and a distinct array of genomic variations. Members of ST131, although highly successful, are less likely to exhibit the EEP.

Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1502
Author(s):  
Abolfazl Dashtbani-Roozbehani ◽  
Melissa H. Brown

The increasing emergence of antimicrobial resistance in staphylococcal bacteria is a major health threat worldwide due to significant morbidity and mortality resulting from their associated hospital- or community-acquired infections. Dramatic decrease in the discovery of new antibiotics from the pharmaceutical industry coupled with increased use of sanitisers and disinfectants due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic can further aggravate the problem of antimicrobial resistance. Staphylococci utilise multiple mechanisms to circumvent the effects of antimicrobials. One of these resistance mechanisms is the export of antimicrobial agents through the activity of membrane-embedded multidrug efflux pump proteins. The use of efflux pump inhibitors in combination with currently approved antimicrobials is a promising strategy to potentiate their clinical efficacy against resistant strains of staphylococci, and simultaneously reduce the selection of resistant mutants. This review presents an overview of the current knowledge of staphylococcal efflux pumps, discusses their clinical impact, and summarises compounds found in the last decade from plant and synthetic origin that have the potential to be used as adjuvants to antibiotic therapy against multidrug resistant staphylococci. Critically, future high-resolution structures of staphylococcal efflux pumps could aid in design and development of safer, more target-specific and highly potent efflux pump inhibitors to progress into clinical use.


2003 ◽  
Vol 376 (3) ◽  
pp. 801-805 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monique MALLÉA ◽  
Abdallah MAHAMOUD ◽  
Jacqueline CHEVALIER ◽  
Sandrine ALIBERT-FRANCO ◽  
Pierre BROUANT ◽  
...  

Over the last decade, MDR (multidrug resistance) has increased worldwide in microbial pathogens by efflux mechanisms, leading to treatment failures in human infections. Several Gram-negative bacteria efflux pumps have been described. These proteinaceous channels are capable of expelling structurally different drugs across the envelope and conferring antibiotic resistance in various bacterial pathogens. Combating antibiotic resistance is an urgency and the blocking of efflux pumps is an attractive response to the emergence of MDR phenotypes in infectious bacteria. In the present study, various alkylaminoquinolines were tested as potential inhibitors of drug transporters. We showed that alkylaminoquinolines are capable of restoring susceptibilities to structurally unrelated antibiotics in clinical isolates of MDR Gram-negative bacteria. Antibiotic efflux studies indicated that 7-nitro-8-methyl-4-[2´-(piperidino)ethyl]aminoquinoline acts as an inhibitor of the AcrAB–TolC efflux pump and restores a high level of intracellular drug concentration. Inhibitory activity of this alkylaminoquinoline is observed on clinical isolates showing different resistance phenotypes.


Author(s):  
Priyanka Ashwath ◽  
Akhila Dharnappa Sannejal

AbstractNosocomial infections caused by Klebsiella species are characterized by high rates of morbidity and mortality. The emergence of the multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensive drug-resistant (XDR) Gram-negative bacteria reduces the antibiotic efficacy in the treatment of infections caused by the microorganisms. Management of these infections is often difficult, due to the high frequency of strains resistant to multiple antimicrobial agents. Multidrug efflux pumps play a major role as a mechanism of antimicrobial resistance in Gram-negative pathogens. Efflux systems are significant in conferring intrinsic and acquired resistance to the bacteria. The emergence of increasing drug resistance among Klebsiella pneumoniae nosocomial isolates has limited the therapeutic options for treatment of these infections and hence there is a constant quest for an alternative. In this review, we discuss various resistance mechanisms, focusing on efflux pumps and related genes in conferring resistance to Klebsiella. The role of various efflux pump inhibitors (EPIs) in restoring the antibacterial activity has also been discussed. In specific, antisense oligonucleotides as alternative therapeutics in combatting efflux-mediated resistance in Klebsiella species have focused upon.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Da’san M. M. Jaradat ◽  
Nehaya Al-Karablieh ◽  
Basmah H. M. Zaarer ◽  
Wenyi Li ◽  
Khalil K.Y. Saleh ◽  
...  

Abstract Increasing antibiotic resistance in Gram-negative bacteria has mandated the development of both novel antibiotics and alternative therapeutic strategies. Evidence of interplay between several gastrointestinal peptides and the gut microbiota led us to investigate potential and broad-spectrum roles for the incretin hormone, human glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) against the Enterobacteriaceae bacteria, Escherichia coli and Erwinia amylovora. GIP had a potent disruptive action on drug efflux pumps of the multidrug resistant bacteria E. coli TG1 and E. amylovora 1189 strains. The effect was comparable to bacterial mutants lacking the inner and outer membrane efflux pump factor proteins AcrB and TolC. While GIP was devoid of direct antimicrobial activity, it has a potent membrane depolarizing effect, and at low concentrations, it significantly potentiated the activity of eight antibiotics and bile salt by reducing MICs by 4-8-fold in E. coli TG1 and 4-20-fold in E. amylovora 1189. GIP can thus be regarded as an antimicrobial adjuvant with potential for augmenting the available antibiotic arsenal.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Michel-Gael F. Guefack ◽  
Simplice B. Tankeo ◽  
Carine M.N. Ngaffo ◽  
Paul Nayim ◽  
Brice E.N. Wamba ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: In recent years, drug resistance to human pathogenic bacteria has been commonly reported from all over the world. As antimicrobial activities of most medicinal plants and antibiotics have been already explored, it is more important to make investigations on animal species mainly invertebrates which could constitute an efficient source of antimicrobial molecules. This work was aimed at contributing to the fight against microbial resistance through the study of antibacterial potential of three animal species (Helix aspersa, Bitis arietans, Aristaeomorpha foliacea) on several multidrug-resistant (MDR) Gram-negative strains overexpressing efflux pumps including Escherichia coli, Enterobacter aerogenes, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Methods: The microdilution technique was used to evaluate the antibacterial activities of the tested samples by determining their minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs), as well as the effect of their combination with antibiotics. Studies on the mechanisms of action of the most active sample, dried Bitis arietans extract, was carried out using standard methods for evaluating the effects of this extract on bacterial H+-ATPases-mediated proton pumps and on bacterial growth kinetics. In this latter case, the optical density was read spectrophotometrically. Results: Zoochemical screening indicated the presence of protein constituents and alkaloids and the absence of other metabolites in all tested extracts. Dried B. arietans showed the best antibacterial activity by inhibiting the growth of 90% of studied bacterial strains with MICs ranging from 128 to 2048 μg/ml. Moreover, this extract presented a significant activity (100≤MIC≤512 µg/ml) against 35% of bacteria that are E. coli (ATCC8739, AG100ATet, MC4100), E. aerogenes EA27, K. pneumoniae ATCC11296, P. aeruginosa (PA01, PA124) and a moderate activity (512<MIC≤2048 µg/ml) against 55% of studied bacteria. It was followed by fresh B. arietans which inhibited the growth of 65% of bacteria with significant activity on three bacteria (E. coli ATCC8739, E. aerogenes ATCC13048 and K. pneumoniae ATCC11296. These two extracts showed bactericidal effects on many strains. The other extracts samples selectively exhibited an antibacterial activity against less than 40% of strains. All samples potentiated the activity of at least 56% of used antibiotics against at least 70% of studied bacterial strains. B. arietans extracts at MIC/2 and MIC/4 mostly improved the activities of more than 78% of antibiotics on at least 70% of bacteria with improvement activity factors (IAF) ranging from 2 – 128 suggesting that this animal contains bioactive compounds which could act as efflux pumps inhibitors. Bacterial growth kinetic study showed that when treated with dried B. arietans extract (the most active sample) at different concentrations MIC/2, MIC and 2xMIC, the growth of tested bacteria (E. coli ATCC8739) decreased respectively when the concentrations increased. Furthermore, this extract inhibited the H+-ATPase-mediated proton pumps of this bacterium increasing the pH values. Conclusion: Results obtained in the present work provide interesting data for the use of dried B. arietans extract and invertebrates in general in the traditional therapy for the treatment of bacterial infections involving multidrug-resistant phenotypes. Keywords: Gram-negative bacteria; multidrug resistance; efflux pumps; infectious diseases; animal species; secondary metabolites.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex B. Green ◽  
Katelyn E. Zulauf ◽  
Katherine A. Truelson ◽  
Lucius Chiaraviglio ◽  
Meng Cui ◽  
...  

AbstractPathogen inactivation is a strategy to improve the safety of transfusion products. The Cerus Intercept technology makes use of a psoralen compound called amotosalen in combination with UVA light to inactivate bacteria, viruses and protozoa. Psoralens have structural similarity to bacterial multidrug-efflux pump substrates. As these efflux pumps are often overexpressed in multidrug-resistant pathogens and with recent reported outbreaks of transfusion-associated sepsis with Acinetobacter, we tested whether contemporary drug-resistant pathogens might show resistance to amotosalen and other psoralens based on multidrug efflux mechanisms through microbiological, biophysical and molecular modeling analysis. The main efflux systems in Enterobacterales and Acinetobacter baumannii, tripartite RND (resistance-nodulation-cell division) systems which span the inner and outer membranes of Gram-negative pathogens and expel antibiotics from the bacterial cytoplasm into the extracellular space, were specifically examined. We found that amotosalen was an efflux substrate for the TolC-dependent RND efflux pumps in E. coli and the AdeABC efflux pump from Acinetobacter baumannii, and that minimal inhibitory concentrations for contemporary bacterial isolates in vitro approached and exceeded the concentration of amotosalen used in the approved platelet and plasma inactivation procedures. These findings suggest that otherwise safe and effective inactivation methods should be further studied to exclude possible gaps in their ability to inactivate contemporary, multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens.ImportancePathogen inactivation is a strategy to enhance the safety of transfused blood products. We identify the compound, amotosalen, widely used for pathogen inactivation, as a bacterial multidrug efflux substrate. Specifically, experiments suggest that amotosalen is pumped out of bacteria by the major TolC-dependent RND efflux pumps in E. coli and the AdeABC efflux pump in Acinetobacter baumannii. Such efflux pumps are often overexpressed in multidrug-resistant pathogens. Importantly, the minimal inhibitory concentrations for contemporary multidrug-resistant Enterobacterales, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Burkholderia spp., and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia isolates approached or exceeded the amotosalen concentration used in approved platelet and plasma inactivation procedures, potentially as a result of efflux pump activity. Although there are important differences in methodology between our experiments and blood product pathogen inactivation, these findings suggest that otherwise safe and effective inactivation methods should be further studied to exclude possible gaps in their ability to inactivate contemporary, multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens.


2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Martins ◽  
Matthew P McCusker ◽  
Miguel Viveiros ◽  
Isabel Couto ◽  
Séamus Fanning ◽  
...  

It is known that bacteria showing a multi-drug resistance phenotype use several mechanisms to overcome the action of antibiotics. As a result, this phenotype can be a result of several mechanisms or a combination of thereof. The main mechanisms of antibiotic resistance are: mutations in target genes (such as DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV); over-expression of efflux pumps; changes in the cell envelope; down regulation of membrane porins, and modified lipopolysaccharide component of the outer cell membrane (in the case of Gram-negative bacteria). In addition, adaptation to the environment, such as quorum sensing and biofilm formation can also contribute to bacterial persistence. Due to the rapid emergence and spread of bacterial isolates showing resistance to several classes of antibiotics, methods that can rapidly and efficiently identify isolates whose resistance is due to active efflux have been developed. However, there is still a need for faster and more accurate methodologies. Conventional methods that evaluate bacterial efflux pump activity in liquid systems are available. However, these methods usually use common efflux pump substrates, such as ethidium bromide or radioactive antibiotics and therefore, require specialized instrumentation, which is not available in all laboratories. In this review, we will report the results obtained with the Ethidium Bromide-agar Cartwheel method. This is an easy, instrument-free, agar based method that has been modified to afford the simultaneous evaluation of as many as twelve bacterial strains. Due to its simplicity it can be applied to large collections of bacteria to rapidly screen for multi-drug resistant isolates that show an over-expression of their efflux systems. The principle of the method is simple and relies on the ability of the bacteria to expel a fluorescent molecule that is substrate for most efflux pumps, ethidium bromide. In this approach, the higher the concentration of ethidium bromide required to produce fluorescence of the bacterial mass, the greater the efflux capacity of the bacterial cells. We have tested and applied this method to a large number of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria to detect efflux activity among these multi-drug resistant isolates. The presumptive efflux activity detected by the Ethidium Bromide-agar Cartwheel method was subsequently confirmed by the determination of the minimum inhibitory concentration for several antibiotics in the presence and absence of known efflux pump inhibitors.


Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 625
Author(s):  
Fatma Y. Ahmed ◽  
Usama Farghaly Aly ◽  
Rehab Mahmoud Abd El-Baky ◽  
Nancy G. F. M. Waly

Most of the infections caused by multi-drug resistant (MDR) P. aeruginosa strains are extremely difficult to be treated with conventional antibiotics. Biofilm formation and efflux pumps are recognized as the major antibiotic resistance mechanisms in MDR P. aeruginosa. Biofilm formation by P. aeruginosa depends mainly on the cell-to-cell communication quorum-sensing (QS) systems. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TDN) have been used as antimicrobial agents against several microorganisms but have not been reported as an anti-QS agent. This study aims to evaluate the impact of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TDN) on QS and efflux pump genes expression in MDR P. aeruginosa isolates. The antimicrobial susceptibility of 25 P. aeruginosa isolates were performed by Kirby–Bauer disc diffusion. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TDN) were prepared by the sol gel method and characterized by different techniques (DLS, HR-TEM, XRD, and FTIR). The expression of efflux pumps in the MDR isolates was detected by the determination of MICs of different antibiotics in the presence and absence of carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP). Biofilm formation and the antibiofilm activity of TDN were determined using the tissue culture plate method. The effects of TDN on the expression of QS genes and efflux pump genes were tested using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The average size of the TDNs was 64.77 nm. It was found that TDN showed a significant reduction in biofilm formation (96%) and represented superior antibacterial activity against P. aeruginosa strains in comparison to titanium dioxide powder. In addition, the use of TDN alone or in combination with antibiotics resulted in significant downregulation of the efflux pump genes (MexY, MexB, MexA) and QS-regulated genes (lasR, lasI, rhll, rhlR, pqsA, pqsR) in comparison to the untreated isolate. TDN can increase the therapeutic efficacy of traditional antibiotics by affecting efflux pump expression and quorum-sensing genes controlling biofilm production.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shira Mandel ◽  
Janna Michaeli ◽  
Noa Nur ◽  
Isabelle Erbetti ◽  
Jonathan Zazoun ◽  
...  

AbstractNew antimicrobial agents are urgently needed, especially to eliminate multidrug resistant Gram-negative bacteria that stand for most antibiotic-resistant threats. In the following study, we present superior properties of an engineered antimicrobial peptide, OMN6, a 40-amino acid cyclic peptide based on Cecropin A, that presents high efficacy against Gram-negative bacteria with a bactericidal mechanism of action. The target of OMN6 is assumed to be the bacterial membrane in contrast to small molecule-based agents which bind to a specific enzyme or bacterial site. Moreover, OMN6 mechanism of action is effective on Acinetobacter baumannii laboratory strains and clinical isolates, regardless of the bacteria genotype or resistance-phenotype, thus, is by orders-of-magnitude, less likely for mutation-driven development of resistance, recrudescence, or tolerance. OMN6 displays an increase in stability and a significant decrease in proteolytic degradation with full safety margin on erythrocytes and HEK293T cells. Taken together, these results strongly suggest that OMN6 is an efficient, stable, and non-toxic novel antimicrobial agent with the potential to become a therapy for humans.


2006 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 535-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheng Chen ◽  
Shenghui Cui ◽  
Patrick F. McDermott ◽  
Shaohua Zhao ◽  
David G. White ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The mechanisms involved in fluoroquinolone resistance in Salmonella enterica include target alterations and overexpression of efflux pumps. The present study evaluated the role of known and putative multidrug resistance efflux pumps and mutations in topoisomerase genes among laboratory-selected and naturally occurring fluoroquinolone-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strains. Strains with ciprofloxacin MICs of 0.25, 4, 32, and 256 μg/ml were derived in vitro using serovar Typhimurium S21. These mutants also showed decreased susceptibility or resistance to many nonfluoroquinolone antimicrobials, including tetracycline, chloramphenicol, and several β-lactams. The expression of efflux pump genes acrA, acrB, acrE, acrF, emrB, emrD, and mdlB were substantially increased (≥2-fold) among the fluoroquinolone-resistant mutants. Increased expression was also observed, but to a lesser extent, with three other putative efflux pumps: mdtB (yegN), mdtC (yegO), and emrA among mutants with ciprofloxacin MICs of ≥32 μg/ml. Deletion of acrAB or tolC in S21 and its fluoroquinolone-resistant mutants resulted in increased susceptibility to fluoroquinolones and other tested antimicrobials. In naturally occurring fluoroquinolone-resistant serovar Typhimurium strains, deletion of acrAB or tolC increased fluoroquinolone susceptibility 4-fold, whereas replacement of gyrA double mutations (S83F D87N) with wild-type gyrA increased susceptibility >500-fold. These results indicate that a combination of topoisomerase gene mutations, as well as enhanced antimicrobial efflux, plays a critical role in the development of fluoroquinolone resistance in both laboratory-derived and naturally occurring quinolone-resistant serovar Typhimurium strains.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document